Imagine That
by DixieGoddess
Summary: Iruka and Kakashi used to be friends... kinda.  Iruka hasn't seen him in years so why is Kakashi suddenly showing up in Iruka's bed?  And why is Iruka amazed that other people can see Kakashi?  Will earn its M rating later on  KakashiIruka paring
1. Chapter 1

I know I'm still in the middle of my other KakaIru fic "Mission: Kiss Me Deadly" but this has been sitting on my computer for several months and I really do want to get it going. Plus, the other KakaIru story I had up "Soul Shadow" was kind of going nowhere... maybe I'll revamp it and post it again in the future sometime, but for now, I've removed it and I'm putting this in its place. So updates will probably go back and forth between this one and "Mission: Kiss Me Deadly". They're both fun to write and work on, and I've got a lot of ideas for both, so from now on, they'll both be updated in a timely manner... hopefully. College starts soon, thus studying and extracurriculars... but I'm actually hoping that having more undisturbed time in my own personal space will be incentive for me to work more.

Anyway, this story takes place right after the first episode incident with Mizuki. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters... boring, but it'll have to do.

* * *

"_Look Kakashi! It's a kunay!"_

"_Kunai," the older man corrected, smiling._

_The eight-year old blushed slightly and scratched the back of his head. "Right. We're not actually learning about them yet, but I took one from my dad's weapons pouch so I could start practicing early. By the time we get to them in school, I'll be __**way**__ ahead of everyone else!" _

"_Iruka… you shouldn't start flinging that around without proper instruction. That's a dangerous weapon."_

"_**You're**__ here."_

_The single visible eye crinkled into an amused smile. "Yes, but I won't be able to catch it for you if it goes out of control."_

Iruka sighed.

He was tired – physically worn down – and it was actually a wonder to him that he had been able to remain upright and pretty chipper all through breakfast. Then again, Naruto's boundless energy that early morning had been contagious.

He was exhausted – emotionally in turmoil – and would have liked nothing better than to throw himself into the mud and cry his eyes out. But he concentrated on the physical pain to stamp out any emotional ache in his heart and trudged onward toward his house.

_The young brunette glanced around, making sure no one was looking, then discreetly produced the kunai from his pants pocket._

"_I thought your father got mad at you the last time you did that."_

_Iruka grinned back over his shoulder as he poised the weapon. "He doesn't need to know. Besides," He turned back and got a look of smugness on his face. "When I end up being in the top of the class, it'll be all worth it, and he won't care anymore."_

"_Top of the class, huh? Think you're gonna get that good?" Kakashi's teasing face appeared over the boy's shoulder._

"_Of course I will!" Iruka shot back. "One day, I'll even be as good as you!"_

The chuunin schoolteacher let out a loud hiss as he peeled the blood-soaked shirt off his back. That giant shuriken had gone deeper than he thought. Good thing Naruto hadn't thought to check his back thoroughly – the kid would've completely spazzed out. Then again… Iruka smiled. Naruto had been much too worked up about his newfound title of 'graduate' to worry about much else, even his own injuries. What a sight the pair of them must have been at the Ramen stand – all bloody, muddy, and sweaty in the first rays of dawn. Not to mention tired, what with the both of them being out all night and getting into an intense fight. _'But Naruto was so happy…' _He smiled to himself, glad that the ramen shop owner had started up the kitchen early just for his two best customers. It was always the chuunin's favorite place to take his most troublesome student.

Iruka sighed wistfully. Starting next month, Naruto would no longer be his student – he was a real ninja now – Iruka's own forehead protector the proof of that.

"Ouch…" The complaint came out in a quiet whoosh of air. He was abruptly brought back to reality as he shifted and the wound became apparent again. Perhaps he _should_ go to the hospital after all. But…

'_But going to the hospital would mean that I would have to admit it. I would have to admit to myself that I actually have this wound… that this wound came from my so-called __**best friend**__. I can't do it…' _

Reality sucked.

_"It doesn't strike you as **odd**?"_

_"Dear, please…"_

_"No! Why does he need this Kakashi-guy? There are plenty of kids at school for him to be friends with. It's not like he's **lonely**."_

_"Please… just calm down." Mrs. Umino placed a soft hand on her husband's shoulder. "If we talk to him about this **calmly** we have a much better chance of getting somewhere than if we start yelling." The disgruntled man muttered something unintelligible but didn't say anymore. "Iruka, honey?" the woman called down the hall. "Come here a second, please." _

Iruka moaned softly as he sat on the edge of his bed. He had bandaged what he could of his back. It wasn't very easy to tend to your own middle back, especially when every little movement sent tremors of pain through your body, but he had managed… somewhat. Good enough for now.

_"My parents don't like you, Kakashi. And they said if I hang out with you anymore, I'll be in big trouble. I think it would just be better if you left."_

_The silver-haired man peered over the top of the bright orange novel he had been reading, his black eye emotionless._

"_I mean – " Iruka choked on his words a moment. "They think it would be better if I made __**other**__ friends."_

_The orange book snapped shut gently and the jounin stood, towering over Iruka, who refused to look him the eye, for a few seconds. "I understand." And he was gone. _

The overwhelming urge to cry rose up as Iruka's thoughts finally wandered back to the events only a few hours previous. But he choked the tears back down. He hadn't cried in years. At least, not from emotional pain. No one could hold back a little eye-watering from physical pain every now and then, no matter how well-trained they were. But he hadn't let his emotions run away with him since his parents' deaths.

_The 10 year old brunette stared forlornly at the fresh names carved into the memorial stone. He was alone now. Completely and utterly alone. And he no longer cared as the tears flowed down his scarred nose. _

_A lithe hand crept around in front of Iruka's face, hovering above his cheek, as though it wanted to wipe the tear streaks away. Iruka stiffened – he knew those hands. He jerked around quickly coming face to chest with a tall, silver-haired jounin with his forehead protector tipped over the left eye. For the first time in days, the boy let a real smile spread over his face. "You came back."_

_The single black eye regarded the young boy with compassion. "I heard you crying."_

"No! I am _not_ going to cry." Iruka declared firmly to himself. He shook his head roughly and yanked out his hair-tie, letting the semi-long brown locks fall to his shoulders. Grabbing a brush off the dresser, he set about getting ready for bed. It was actually morning already, but he hadn't gotten much more than a nap before the crisis with Naruto stealing the scroll had called him away. He should have been asleep hours ago. Good thing he had an entire month off before classes started again – well, mission desk duty would always be there, but that wasn't until late afternoon.

He sighed. He was so irresponsible, keeping Naruto later than he already was. He didn't have school that morning, but he was still young and should get proper rest. Then again, it didn't seem to matter _what_ happened to Naruto – a few good beatings, a little sleep deprivation – he was always full of energy in the morning. That's why Iruka loved the kid so much. And he was one of the only people the chuunin really had… _no_ – he was the _only_ person the chuunin had anymore.

The hand brushing his hair fell limply to his lap, and the anguished look came over the teacher's face again. "Mizuki… why? We were supposed to be friends…"

_"Kakashi…" The new genin toed the dirt absently, not looking up at the jounin. "I appreciate you coming back for these last two years… but I'm a genin now – a real ninja. And I have a new friend – his name is Mizuki. And well… I don't really need you around anymore."_

_"Mizuki," Kakashi repeated. He stood slowly. Iruka chanced a glance up at him, and his heart clenched as he noticed that Kakashi looked even sadder than the last time they parted._

_"Even the Hokage says that I shouldn't hang out with you anymore. I'm an adult now."_

_Kakashi glanced the twelve year old over. He had to admit that Iruka looked ready for anything in his new official Hidden Leaf Headband. "This Mizuki… he better treat you right."_

_Iruka attempted a reassuring smile. "He does."_

_Kakashi nodded, and, just as before, was gone._

The hairbrush trembled violently in Iruka's fingers as he gripped it tighter and tighter. Why? Why was everyone always leaving him? First his parents, then his friends at the academy (he knew they really didn't know how to approach him after his parents' deaths, but still), and now the one person he thought had truly cared for him. Mizuki… Naruto would even be leaving his class now; they would be seeing so much less of each other. And now that Mizuki was gone… he didn't even have anyone to fill the void.

He couldn't stop the soft sob that escaped his parted lips or the tear that trickled down his cheek… or any of the ones that followed. Curling into a ball, Iruka let himself be swallowed into the darkness of self-pity and cried himself to sleep for the first time in over a decade.

* * *

When he awoke several hours later to his blaring alarm clock, which he had forgotten to turn off, Iruka blinked bleary eyes at it and yawned loudly. He was just about to reach over and switch it off, but suddenly, a longer, leaner and more impatient arm than his beat him to it, smacking the alarm clock off the table. Then the arm disappeared. 

Iruka stared at the now-silent clock on the floor, blinking stupidly. Finally, it registered in his mind that _someone else_ was in his bed. (He really needed to work on his reaction time.) The chuunin quickly rolled off the bed into a defensive crouch, grabbing the nearest weapon off his nightstand.

He glanced over the other figure in his bed – or at least what he could see of them. Their back was turned, and all Iruka could make out was a standard shinobi vest and a tall crop of white hair. But apparently whoever it was didn't see anything dangerous or weird about being in Iruka's bed, because after they had killed the annoying alarm clock they seemed to have just rolled over and gone back to snoring softly.

Standing up, but still keeping up a defensive posture, Iruka crept silently to the other side of the bed to get a look at his intruder's face. His grip slipped and his eyes widened as the rest of the man lying in his bed was revealed. Lying there peacefully was a 5'11'' jounin with a silver mop of gravity-defying hair, the Hidden Leaf Headband tipped over the left eye, and a black cloth mask pulled up past the nose. The chuunin began to shake. No. There was absolutely no way. He must have snapped. Or he was dreaming! Yes, this was one of those very realistic dreams where you think you've woken up but you haven't yet. Yes, that had to be it.

Well, as long at it was a dream… It wouldn't hurt to really check. Leaning over the bed inch by inch until his face was mere centimeters from the other man's, Iruka took a deep shaky breath. "Kakashi…?" The single visible eye flew open to gaze at the teacher, and Iruka snapped back involuntarily, breath catching in his throat.

He stood rigid as a statue as the jounin struggled to sit up and stretched. "It's early…" he whined. Then he turned and smiled at the completely freaking-out teacher, the eye curved into a very familiar crescent. "Good morning, Iruka. You look good with your hair down… why are you so tense?"

Iruka didn't respond – didn't move, and eventually Kakashi's smile dropped and his gaze turned concerned. "Iruka…?" He made to swing his legs over the side of the bed, but this movement finally triggered Iruka's reflexes. He brought his weapon hand up again and gave Kakashi a hard stare.

"Stay back!"

Kakashi blinked then smirked at the chuunin. "Or what? You'll brush me to death?" The teacher finally glanced down at what exactly he was holding and blushed when he discovered his hairbrush where he had thought a kunai to be. "As much as that may hurt me with my hair, I doubt it'll do any lasting damage."

Unexpectedly, Iruka suddenly untensed all his muscles and let the brush drop to the floor. He grinned at Kakashi who stared back confused. "You know what… It doesn't even matter, because this is a dream, and you're not real."

"Uh…"

"Excuse me." The chuunin brushed past Kakashi and jumped back over to his side of the bed. The jounin could only frown in puzzlement as Iruka turned his back on him and fell back asleep.

* * *

When Iruka opened his eyes again, the sun was brighter, and the previous events seemed nothing more than surreal. He blinked groggy eyes and peered down at his still-broken alarm clock. He quickly snapped his head back, then sighed in relief as he found his room empty. He must have simply knocked his alarm clock down in a half-asleep state. He smiled good-humoredly to himself and shook his head. What a strange dream. The things that pop into your unconscious when you're stressed. 

Iruka yawned and stretched, heading into the bathroom and brushing his teeth. He may have felt like doing nothing more than lying in bed in self-pity for the rest of the morning, but he knew that would get him nowhere. Better to face the world and throw himself back into things right away. He finished brushing his teeth and leaned down to splash water on his face. He sighed into the warm liquid and slowly straightened up to face himself in the mirror. But when he opened his eyes, he could only jump and give a very unmanly squeak of surprise.

The silver-haired jounin's reflection smiled and waved at him. "Good morning."

Iruka slowly turned, hoping that the other man wouldn't actually be there, but was sorely disappointed when he came almost face to face with him.

Kakashi smiled even wider as Iruka stared at him in disbelief. "Hey, you got really _tall_! Look at you! You're almost as tall as me… excluding the hair of course." He chuckled. Iruka remained silent. A few seconds later, still not saying anything, he turned and stalked back to his bedroom. Another set of footsteps followed him. "You're not going to go back to sleep again, are you? Cuz that was boring…… Iruka?"

The chuunin tossed his clothes on without looking at the other man, and pulled his hair into a ponytail – still not acknowledging the jounin's presence. Deliberately not looking at him, he brushed past Kakashi and headed to the kitchen. The silver haired jounin followed him like an obedient puppy. "So what are you having this morning?" he asked brightly, still trying to get a response out of the chuunin. However, Iruka continued to ignore him and simply headed down the hallway and slipped on his shoes. "Hey, Iruka, you didn't eat!" Kakashi pouted through his mask. "You know, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. You shouldn't skip!" Iruka left, slamming the door behind him.

Kakashi huffed. "So unsociable in the morning." He stepped forward briskly… and slammed right into the door. "OUCH!" He jumped back, holding his nose, eyes tearing up in pain. "Ouch?" The second one came out in a questioning tone as he blinked at the door. "What the - ?" But he didn't have time to dwell on it; Iruka was getting away fast. Kakashi reached out and grabbed the doorknob softly, just for a second, pulling away quickly as though it might bite. Satisfied when nothing happened, he twisted it – slightly harsher than necessary – and stepped out into the morning light.

Seeing the brown ponytail bobbing in the distance, he ran to catch up to it. "Iruka…?" The younger man still stared straight ahead. "Iruka – STOP!" He abruptly threw his body in front of the chuunin's. Finally, the other man froze, and slowly raised his eyes to meet the single black one that was shining in anxiety. "Do you even know who I am?" The question came out a desperate whisper.

Iruka didn't answer for a moment, and Kakashi was afraid that the chuunin really _had_ completely forgotten about him. But just as he was about to slump his shoulders in defeat and try to come up with some plan to make the brunette remember him, Iruka grinned. Kakashi blinked. The smile looked a little too serene and slightly manic, as though he were speaking to one of his students who had pissed him off just a little too much and he was trying to keep his sanity. He chuckled humorlessly. "Kakashi… I may be older… but I'm not so senile as to not recognize my own imaginary friend."

* * *

Not exactly your average Kakashi-and-Iruka-met-during-childhood story... but oh-so fun!

If you enjoyed, please review!

**DixieGoddess**


	2. Chapter 2

For anyone who has also been reading Mission: Kiss Me Deadly, I promise that story will be updated next and soon.

It seems that a lot of people are confused - many seem to think that when Iruka said 'imaginary', he didn't mean the literal interpretation, or that Iruka has gone insane... either way - no - in this story Kakashi really _is_ an imaginary friend. It's kind of an AU story, but things will fall into place in the way of the original Naruto storyline until things even out so it's not terribly AU... you know what, as the story progresses, you'll start to get the picture so I'm just going to let you intelligent readers figure it out for yourselves.

* * *

"_Kakashi… I may be older… but I'm not so senile as to not recognize my own imaginary friend."_

With that, Iruka stepped around the jounin and continued his steady pace toward town. Kakashi stared after him for a second, then smiled happily and caught up with his old friend. "If you knew who I was, why weren't you saying anything?"

"I'm not very talkative in the morning." The chuunin's voice was clipped and cold.

"Oh… you used to be."

"Well, _not_ anymore." Iruka glared out of the corner of his eye.

Kakashi held up a hand in a placating manner. "Alright, alright…" He tried smiling at Iruka, but the chuunin turned his head away. Kakashi sighed. This wasn't exactly turning out the way he had been expecting it to.

"Good morning, Iruka-sensei!"

Iruka smiled and bowed slightly to the lady on the street.

"Oh, good morning, Iruka-sensei!" another lady called, spotting him.

Iruka smiled and bowed again. This happened several more times as the duo made their way through the village. Kakashi couldn't help but be impressed by all the people who seemed to know Iruka – but he also couldn't help but be a little bit jealous as well.

"Oh, Iruka-sensei! How are you this morning?" Iruka was finally stopped by a little old lady in one of the outdoor food stands. The chuunin smiled brightly.

"Oh, I'm… fine…" He tried very hard not to glance at Kakashi who was standing just a little too close beside him.

"That's wonderful, dear. Here – " She produced a bag of tiny fried donuts and handed it out to the sensei. "Take these. Knowing you, you probably skipped breakfast again this morning."

Iruka looked as though he wanted to protest, but thought better of it and smiled lightly, taking the offered food. "You know me too well, Monoka." He reached into his pocket to pull out money, but was stopped by a wave of the little old lady's hand.

"Oh, no, dear. It's on me." She blushed slightly.

Iruka grinned and bowed. "Thank you, Monoka. I'll see you later." And he turned and left.

Kakashi was just about to follow him, but was stopped by Monoka's hand on his forearm. He blinked down at her, not sure what to make of the situation. "Did you need something, dear?"

Kakashi blinked. She couldn't possibly be talking to him. Then again, she also shouldn't be able to touch him like that. He lifted his free hand and pointed to himself in question. Monoka laughed. "Yes, _you_, darling. Are you a friend of Iruka-sensei's?"

She _could_ see him! She could even _touch_ him! But Kakashi would figure this one out later. "Uh… yeah… we go way back."

The shopkeeper smiled widely. "That's nice. There's nothing like old friends."

"…Yeah… excuse me." And Kakashi pulled from her grip and raced after Iruka, who, by that point, had almost gotten lost in the sea of people.

When Iruka had been with him, he had stuck close to him, and everyone had just made room for the both of them. Now he had to clear his own path. It was a strange feeling having to dodge people, rather than knowing you could go right through them. Kakashi decided that bumping into people really wasn't that pleasant of an experience. Touching was… weird.

He finally caught up to Iruka who was silently munching on one of his donuts, but looked up with a sneer as Kakashi hopped up next to him. "I thought you were gone." There was heavy disappointment in his voice, and the jounin tried not to show how hurt he was.

"Nope! Still here! I couldn't leave without first teasing you about hitting on grandmas!"

Iruka glared. "It's not my fault she blushes every time I'm around."

"Yes, you seem to be quite the stud around here."

"'_Stud_' is a stupid word, and no I'm not."

"You had quite a few ladies calling out to you."

"Most of those were mothers of my students."

Kakashi blinked. "So… you really _are_ a teacher?"

"Why do you think everyone was calling me 'sensei'?" Iruka looked annoyed, but Kakashi was just happy that he was finally getting the other man to talk to him.

The jounin shrugged. "I dunno. But, seriously… _you're_ a _teacher_?"

Iruka skidded to a halt and glared at the incredulous man. "Yeah! What about it?"

Unfortunately for the sensei, his glare didn't seem to have the desired effect of making Kakashi shut up. The silver-haired imaginary friend stared at him for a second before bursting out in hysterical laughter. "_You_! A _teacher_! After all the crap you pulled when you were a kid!" He clutched his stomach, laughing harder as Iruka's eyebrow began to twitch. "You were the most troublesome kid in school! And your grades weren't even that good!"

Iruka growled lowly. "It's called growing up, Kakashi! I've matured, in case you haven't – you know what? It doesn't matter," Iruka abruptly changed his tune, causing Kakashi to cease his laughter and blink curiously. "I don't know why I'm bothering to have this conversation with you. It's not like you're real." And with that, he spun on his heel and began walking again, tossing his now empty donut bag into a nearby trash bin.

Kakashi stared after the retreating figure for a moment, before huffing angrily and stalking after him. Who did Iruka think he was, calling Kakashi unreal? Considering that the chuunin had been the one to bring Kakashi into creation in the first place and then kept _constantly_ dragging him back here to fix his damn problems, he would've liked to think that Iruka could act a little more _friendly_ toward him. Kakashi frowned. Obviously, Iruka _had_ matured. A little too much, in the jounin's opinion. He wasn't any fun anymore – he was downright rude, actually.

As he caught up with him, Kakashi wholly considered voicing his thoughts on the other man's current behavior, but stopped short when he caught the distressed look on Iruka's face. He sighed and merely fell into step with the chuunin. He was here to _help_ Iruka, after all – not piss him off further.

As they approached a tall, white building, Kakashi finally decided to venture another question. "So… where we going?" He honestly wasn't expecting a response. But Iruka surprised him.

"We're going to a place where there are people who can help me."

"Help you with what?" Kakashi questioned, confused.

"My mind," Iruka answered brightly, in that same manic fashion as before as he finally reached his destination. He swung open the door and stepped up to a pristine white counter with a pretty receptionist sitting behind it.

Kakashi followed Iruka's example and flung the door open as well, stepping inside the blank room. He almost physically shivered. The atmosphere was… sterile… and creepy. What could Iruka possibly want in this place?

The receptionist smiled at the chuunin who smiled way too widely back at her. "Hello, sir, can I help you?"

Iruka leaned against the counter. "Yes, I believe I've gone crazy. I'd like to check myself in."

The girl blinked in obvious surprise, and Kakashi rolled his eyes. So this was a mental hospital. Iruka actually thought he needed to be in a mental hospital. As the girl stuttered over a reply, Kakashi swept up to the counter and grabbed Iruka by his shoulders, steering him away. His eye curved into a smile at the girl. "Sorry about that. He's _not_ crazy – he's just confused."

The girl stared as Iruka struggled against the stronger grip that was slowly guiding him out the door. "No! Go away! You're not real! He's not real!" he pleaded with the receptionist.

The girl smiled brightly. "He looks pretty real to me."

Iruka froze for a moment. "Wait… you can _see_ him? And…" he looked at Kakashi. "…You're _touching_ me! _Why_ are you _touching_ me?"

Kakashi gripped his bewildered friend and began walking toward the door again. "Yes, of _course_ she can see me, 'Ruka. You're so funny." He waved one hand at the dense girl who was now beaming at them, and pushed Iruka fully out the door. Just as he was about to give Iruka a lecture about pulling weird crap, like trying to check himself into a mental institution, Kakashi froze and looked down at the arm that was still clutching the chuunin's shirt. "Hey, Iruka, you're _right_! I'm _touching_ you! Oh my god! I can _touch_ you! We're _touching_! Iruka, look! We're touching each other!"

"That's very obvious, and could you not say that quite so loud?" Iruka snapped, yanking his arm from the overexcited man's grip. "It's obvious that other people can hear you, and they're starting to stare."

Kakashi grinned. "Aw – you're so cute when you blush."

"Shut the hell up."

Kakashi might have commented on Iruka's harsh language, but he was simply happy that the chuunin was no longer in his 'crazy rant mode'. He seemed to be perfectly back to normal. Well, as normal as he had been all morning. He still looked grumpy. But by that point, it was more of an exhausted annoyance rather than a steaming one.

Iruka sighed, reaching up a finger to lightly poke the jounin in the chest. Kakashi watched him, amused and curious. "So… what's up with this?"

Kakashi shrugged. "You expect me to know?"

Iruka dropped his hand and closed his eyes in what looked like a headache. "Whatever."

"You know, considering your little freak-out just a few minutes ago, you're taking this remarkably well."

"I've had weirder things happen to me." Kakashi stared into the other's own deep, brown eyes. "No… I lied. I haven't. But as long as other people can see you… I won't worry about my sanity for now. I might worry about other things, like the make-up of the universe, but not my sanity." He shoved his hands in his pockets and began walking.

With nothing better to do, Kakashi followed.

It was silent for several minutes. Kakashi might have started up a conversation, but Iruka looked to be in deep thought. So he followed silently. After a few moments, the brunette began darting his eyes to the jounin, an unreadable look in his eyes. But he didn't speak, and Kakashi let it be.

This continued all the way back to Iruka's home. Iruka slipped off his sandals and headed into the main part of the house. Kakashi might have also removed his own sandals, but he had never done so before, and he didn't feel like figuring it out. So he ditched the idea and trailed after his distraught friend.

When he found Iruka, the teacher was curled up in the furthest corner of the living room couch, eyes peering over the tops of his knees at the silver-haired man. As Kakashi stepped forward, Iruka seemed to reflexively scrunch in on himself a little tighter as though he were trying to hide from his own friend… which was ridiculous of course – Kakashi thought, continuing his way to the couch – because he and Iruka were tighter than tight. He was Iruka's first friend; Iruka was his… _only_ friend.

Reaching the couch, Kakashi plopped down next to him. He smoothed his fingertips over the material under him, reveling in the smoothness that he had never been able to feel before. "You have a nice couch…"

Iruka said nothing. But at least he was still looking at him, and Kakashi found that a definite improvement from the cold shoulder of earlier that morning. He smiled brightly with his one exposed eye. Iruka had to be happy to see him. He always had been before…

"So… what've you been up to… you know, besides the teaching?"

"Life."

Kakashi's eye twitched a bit. Well, _that_ was informative.

The jounin sighed and decided to try a different angle. "Sorry about your alarm clock – sort of a reflex – I didn't know I'd actually be able to do anything to it." He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "I'd offer to pay for it, but… well… you know… hehe…"

Iruka made no response. But he was trembling; slightly – almost invisibly – but his body was definitely shaking, and Kakashi's extra-sensitive jounin eyesight caught it. He frowned deeply and shifted closer to the other man. "Iruka…"

Iruka shifted, pressing his back side to side against the couch cushions as though he had an itch.

Kakashi's gloved hand reached out, but he only hovered above Iruka's shoulder. "Iruka… what's wrong?"

The sensei winced and shifted again, his trembling growing slightly worse.

Kakashi's eye widened. "You're… you're not scared of me?" he whispered, fingers curling back in, afraid to get any closer to his friend.

"Don't be stupid!" After the near-silence, the shout seemed even more intense. Kakashi jumped and Iruka winced even bigger than the first time. "I'm not _scared_ of you, idiot! You're nothing – just a figment of my imagination! That's all you've ever been! Albeit, you are now a _solid_ figment of my imagination, you still do not exist! I'm not afraid of you!"

"Ok, ok! Iruka, calm down…" Kakashi tried to keep his voice level to calm the hysterical man. Despite the outward sympathy, Kakashi felt something flicker beneath the surface – some sort of _emotion_ that had been evoked when Iruka had yelled at him and called him 'nothing.' However, he pushed it aside. It was obvious that something was bothering the teacher besides Kakashi's presence. The brown haired man was shifting more uncomfortably now and his eyes kept squeezing shut. He looked like he was in pain…

"Iruka… what's wrong?" Kakashi tried again. "Are you having some sort of panic attack? Are you hurt?" He reached out again and this time actually placed his hand on Iruka's shoulder.

The effect was immediate, the chuunin jerking away and jumping up from the couch. "I'M FINE!"

But the trembling was more than evident to the naked eye now, and when Iruka leapt from the couch, Kakashi's hand fell to the cushion where he had been sitting. His fingers slid over something much smoother than the couch had been – warm… slick… he blinked – red? Blood? "Iruka – you _are_ hurt!" Kakashi jumped up after him and began reaching out again, but Iruka brushed past him roughly, and the jounin could only gape after him as the blood-soaked back of his shirt swept by.

Iruka slammed the bathroom door behind him, using the noise to cover up the sharp gasp of pain that he finally let escape. He clutched at his back, pulling his hand back to find the blood had basically drenched his shirt. "Dammit," he hissed, peeling off the ruined clothing along with the old bandages. 'Shoulda changed them this morning… I was so distracted… didn't even realize – ' He cursed again as he began the arduous task of cleaning up his back once again. 'Stupid Kakashi! I didn't even remember I was hurt… couldn't even feel it… Now it's probably gonna get infected since I didn't take care of it – stressing it by parading all over town.'

The chuunin cringed. It hurt worse than before as he rubbed at areas that had begun to scab over.

There was suddenly a loud thud against the bathroom door, making Iruka jump. A muffled grumble followed the noise.

Iruka sighed irritably and proceeded to ignore the 'figment of his imagination' on the other side of the door.

Kakashi, meanwhile, held his throbbing nose in his hands for the second time that day – having forgotten that, for one reason or another, he no longer possessed the ability to walk through solid objects… this was getting old fast. Sighing resignedly, he opted for knocking softly instead.

No response.

He knocked harder, starting to get annoyed. "Iruka! Don't ignore me! Please?" he added more gently.

"Go. Away." Iruka tried to keep his words harsh and biting to cover up the pain leaking through.

The jounin wasn't fooled for a second. "Iruka, what happened? Why are you hurt?"

The brunette went back to the silent treatment.

"Fine." Kakashi sank to the floor, cross-legged and taking on a bored position. "I can sit here all day, you know. It's not like I have anywhere else to be."

"Whatever," Iruka mumbled to himself, pulling out new bandages.

* * *

Kakashi was beginning to nod off when Iruka finally emerged, cleaned-up and not in quite as much pain. The jounin snapped fully awake as the other man tried to brush past him and reached out to snag Iruka's pants. The chuunin abruptly stumbled gracelessly. "What the hell!?" he barked, swiveling around and jerking his leg free. "You trying to injure me more?"

Kakashi gave Iruka a stern look as though he were still a rambunctious child. "I want to know why you're injured in the first place."

Iruka faltered slightly under the look, but shook it off and scurried off down the hallway with a brief "None of your business – it's nothing."

"Well, it has to be something!" Kakashi called after him, jumping to his feet. "Is that why you're so upset? Why you called me here? Why you were cr – " Kakashi froze as he entered the kitchen to be met with Iruka's back as he leaned against the counter.

His shoulders were shaking, and Kakashi just knew that there were tears in the teacher's eyes. He approached silently and laid a gentle hand on the other's shoulder. Almost instantly, Iruka jerked around and attempted to glare at Kakashi through his tears. "WHY are you here?"

A gloved hand rose up the tan cheek and brushed away the water droplets that threatened to fall. "I heard you crying."

* * *

I think the next chapter will explore more of Kakashi and Iruka's past when Iruka was a kid to give more background info on everything. If you enjoyed the story, I would immensely enjoy your reviews!

**DixieGoddess**


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